Have You Seen These Iconic Pizza Movie Scenes?
Pizza. The pie. If you’re in a hurry, ‘za.
Whatever you call it, and however you like it, the food that found its way to America over a century ago has become a national favorite. Did you know an estimated 13 percent of the U.S. populace chows down on pizza on any given day?
New York thin. Chicago deep dish. Neapolitan traditional. Sicilian soft. Greek pan. California gourmet.
Truth.
The pie may have originated in Italy, but it has casually morphed into an all-American symbol, and if you take a look at movies, you can see pizza is an edible but indelible part of pop culture.
Spiderman 2
Spiderman gives pizza delivery a whole new twist. Peter Parker is late for work—again—due to a “disturbance.” As he pokes his Spidey mask out of sight in his jacket pocket, his boss tells him he’s got 7.5 minutes to cover 42 blocks and deliver 8 pizzas. Or else (the else being unemployment). Pete hops on his motor scooter and takes off, threading through taxis, ricocheting off cars, narrowly missing a city bus. With only two minutes left, he ducks into an alley, goes web slinger, and swings between buildings, pizza boxes tucked under his arm. But wouldn’t you know it? One short crawl from meeting the deadline, he’s forced to nip two kids out of the path of an oncoming truck.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Spiderman isn’t the only superhero who takes his pizza delivery seriously—Rafael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello do, too. Like, in every single movie. In this case, Mikey and Donnie gaze at the moon through an overhead sidewalk grate, waiting for the pizza guy, who has 30 seconds to deliver, or the shell-backs get a $3.00 discount.
“Where the heck is One Twenty-two and an Eighth?” complains the pizza guy when he climbs off his scooter.
“Down here, dude.”
By the way, the boys get the discount.
Eat, Pray, Love
Speaking of totally inspiring pie cinema, how about Julia Roberts going for pizza in Napoli? As her character munches on a slice of clearly delectably delicious Pizza Margherita—so called because it was originally created in 1889 to honor a queen of the same name—she says, “I’m in love. I’m having a relationship with my pizza.” When her weight-conscious BFF cites a 10-pound weight gain as the reason she can’t have any pie, Julia shakes her head. “What do you mean, you can’t? This is Pizza Margherita in Naples, Italy. It is your moral imperative to eat and enjoy that pizza.”
Listen to Julia. Julia knows.
Do the Right Thing
When it comes to drama, perhaps no pizza scene can match “Boycott Sal’s” from Spike Lee’s first big movie. Buggin’ Out stops in for a slice at the ever-popular Sal’s (the only white business in Bed-Stuy). Sal may make great pie, but he’s an operator, and not in a good way. Seriously. Who charges $1.50 for a slice, but $2.00 for extra cheese?
Grumbling about the prices, Buggin’ Out claims a booth and picks up his slice, only to stop with it halfway to his mouth when he notices every picture on Sal’s Wall of Fame is of a white Italian guy, despite the fact that Sal’s customers are almost all Black. When Buggin’ fires up about that, the situation gets tense. Words fly, punctuated by a few threatening swings of Sal’s Louisville Slugger.
Spaceballs
It may not be a flattering portrayal for the pizza chain, but Pizza the Hutt is certainly one of the more memorable takeaways (or is it take-outs?) from Mel Brooks’ space saga parody. The blob of cheese and pepperoni threatens the movie’s hero by extorting a million spacebucks. Lonestar and Barf are warned to pony up the pay in time or else “pizza is gonna send out for you!”
Back to the Future II
Back to the Future II is nearing a milestone. Marty McFly, Jennifer, and Doc Brown head “all the way into the future” on October 21, 2015. They won’t find flying cards, hoverboards, or even hydrators. While Jennifer is trapped in her future home after being placed there by police (who used her biodata to find out where she lived) she is able to see the family matriarch cook dinner. “Boy, oh boy, mom,” says Marty. “You sure can hydrate a pizza.”
Saturday Night Fever
If you’re talking pizza, you might be jive talkin’ if you don’t recall John Travolta’s Bee Gees-heavy strut down 86th Street. In the opening to this 70s classic, Tony Manero hits up Lenny’s Pizza (a real place still in business in the same location!). He wants two slices, but he’s carrying a paint can. What to do? Stack on slice on top of the other. How many times have you tried it?
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
No Double Cheese and Sausage ever tasted so terrific. No teacher ever schooled a slacker quite like Mr. Hand. Thanks to Spicoli, we’re sure it was no coincidence that sharing pizza and communist Cuba were connected. Sean Penn’s look of disgust when his classmates scarf down his pie says it all.
Home Alone
If you’ve ever wanted to prank a pizza delivery person—don’t. You can’t do it funnier than “Kevin” in the movie Home Alone—and it’s just plain mean. Faced with nothing but time, he loots his brother’s stash of cash and orders pizza from Little Nero’s and rather than answer the door, he pays for his pie ($11.80, if you’re a trivia buff) with the aid of “Angels With Filthy Souls”, a fictional mobster movie. Don’t act like you don’t remember, you filthy animal!
